This invention relates generally to residential-type beds, and more particularly to apparatus adapting such beds to adjustment of the elevation of the head relative to the foot of the bed or vice versa.
For many years, hospital beds have been known to have features enabling support of the bedding in various configurations to adapt to the particular needs of a patient using the bed. Such beds are relatively heavy, complicated and expensive. Some people have chronic ailments which can be addressed by simply tilting the bedding, such as the mattress and foundation (box spring, for example) so that the entire assembly is tilted or inclined in a plane with head end at a level above the foot end at some angle or, in a few instances, with the foot end at a level above the head end. Persons who can be helped by one or the other types of inclination include those suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), heartburn, hiatal hernia, Barrett""s esophagus, bariatric surgery, congestive heart failure, orthopnea (shortness of breath when lying supine), persons suffering from swelling of the legs, aka edema, and obstetrical patients. Some women are required to be in Trendelenberg position for some time prior to delivery. The purpose is to take pressure off of the cervix. Rather than purchase or lease a hospital bed, some people have dealt with the problem in various ways. One example is placing blocks under the legs at one end of the bed. There is a U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,227 issued Jul. 6, 1993 and which discloses specially shaped blocks for receiving the lower ends of the legs of a bed which is to be raised at one end. These approaches, while simple, can require considerable experimentation to obtain the right inclination toward the foot of the bed.
There is a type of bed having telescoping legs to place the occupant in the xe2x80x9chead downxe2x80x9d or Trendelenberg position, or in a xe2x80x9chead-up,xe2x80x9d reverse Trendelenberg position. This is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,052 issued Mar. 19, 1974. An assembly for use with a conventional bed frame for tilting the mattress is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,726 issued Sep. 14, 1993. It establishes a fixed inclination of the mattress, depending upon the length of the tilt establishing braces. An adjustable inclineable bed frame assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,412 issued Oct. 22, 1996 and which uses a lower base frame and an upper mattress frame and which can be raised or lowered as desired with a screw jack assembly. Other arrangements are disclosed in patents listed in that patent. Most, if not all, of these devices require their own structures and do not provide readily adjustable apparatus mountable in a conventional bed frame of standard size. U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,709 issued Jan. 14, 1997 discloses a transverse foundation support bar mounted on base elements to be slid on side rails of a conventional bed to adjust the angle of inclination. U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,073 issued Dec. 29, 1987 uses a power unit combined with a cam ramp to raise and lower the head end of the bed. None of these arrangements make it convenient for the occupant of the bed to adjust the inclination to the optimum angle for patient comfort while lying in the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,532 issued May 9, 2000 discloses a combination of a motor and jack screws under one end of the bed and operable by a hand-held control to drive the electric motor to move the end of the bed up or down and stop at a desired inclination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,305 discloses a bed frame insert. It uses manually operable screws to raise one end of a mattress, but it cannot be adjusted by the occupant in the bed.
Another approach to moving a mattress to an inclined attitude appears in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,313 issued Feb. 28, 1989 and which discloses a plurality of pneumatic cells under the matress. Inflatable devices of other types have been used for raising portions of a bed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,928 issued Jan. 1, 1974 discloses a pneumatic system capable of raising the head end and the foot end independent of the area between the ends. U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,939 issued May 23, 1995 discloses a bed tilting apparatus using a wedge-shaped bag.
Notwithstanding the variety of devices which have been invented already, there remains a need for apparatus usable with a conventional mattress and foundation and readily mountable in a conventional bed frame or mountable on its own legs on the base frame for support above the floor to raise either the head end or the foot end of a mattress at the will and under the control of the person in the bed in an effort to obtain an inclination providing optimum possible comfort under the circumstances.